The present invention relates to a deceleration control system for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a selective deceleration brake control system which is effective to control braking effort to cause the vehicle to decelerate at a rate selected and set by the operator.
It has been the general practice to provide anti-skid brake control systems on commercial aircraft to aid the aircraft in its deceleration after land. Anti-skid systems have reached a point of development beyond merely detecting and terminating wheel skids. A modern anti-skid system functions to optimize braking efficiency by continuously adapting to changing runway conditions and other factors affecting braking to provide maximum braking effort consistent with the level of brake pressure selected by pilot brake pedal control. Such an anti-skid system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 155,903, filed June 23, 1971, entitled Brake Control System, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,873 on Oct. 30, 1973, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,916, issued Apr. 3, 1973, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,234, issued Apr. 24, 1973. Despite the development of superior anti-skid brake control systems, however, it remained necessary for the pilot to continuously adjust the level of brake pressure by manual brake pedal manipulation in order to accomplish a smooth and comfortable deceleration of the aircraft. The present invention relieves the pilot of this burden of constant attention to brake pedal adjustment while providing a smooth comfortable deceleration of the aircraft by automatically controlling brake pressure to cause the aircraft to decelerate at a rate preselected by the pilot.